Veterans Karl Malone -- back after a one-game league suspension
-- and John Stockton were too much for the youthful Kings as the
Jazz pulled off a 105-100 victory in the third overtime meeting
between the teams this season.

Malone had 30 points and 10 rebounds and hit the first two
baskets in overtime off feeds from Stockton as Utah took
control, running its season-high winning streak to eight games.
The Jazz remained tied with Portland for the league's best
record at 29-8 and ended a four-game losing streak in overtime
contests.

Stockton assisted on Utah's first three buckets in overtime,
including Malone's basket in the lane with 2:48 left that forged
a 97-97 tie. Those were two of the Jazz's 36 points off 26
turnovers by the Kings.

Malone then faked Corliss Williamson on a jumper, drove the lane
and hit a lay-in to put Utah ahead for good. Stockton's pass to
Greg Foster on the fast break led to a layup that made it
101-97.

"They turned the ball over, fortunately, a couple of times and
missed a couple of shots," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "And
that's all you can hope for. Fortunately, we were able to score,
otherwise we were in trouble."

Kings rookie Jason Williams threw away a pass that Jeff Hornacek
flipped ahead to Bryon Russell, whose layup pushed the lead to
103-97 with 1:25 to go. Rookie Predrag Stojakovic answered with
a 3-pointer and Sacramento had a chance to tie after Foster
missed two free throws.

But Williams attempted a wild 3-pointer that was well off the
mark and Vlade Divac missed badly on his attempt from beyond the
arc.

Hornacek helped put away the game with two free throws and Chris
Webber missed a high, arching 3-pointer in the final seconds.

"No more moral victories, overtime or not," Webber said. "Maybe
next year, once we win a championship or something, we can look
back and say those were great lessons. But not now, things are
too cloudy."

Malone returned after serving his suspension for throwing a
punch at Houston's Othella Harrington in Sunday's 85-76 win.
Without Malone, the Jazz coasted to a 98-80 victory over
Vancouver.

Playing their third game in as many nights and fifth in six
days, the last thing the Jazz needed was overtime. But it was
inevitable against the Kings.

Russell contributed 24 points and hit five 3-pointers for Utah,
which needed double overtime to defeat Sacramento on February
15, 120-112. Following that victory, the Jazz lost four
straight overtime games, including a 104-101 setback at
Sacramento on March 30. That was Utah's last loss of any kind.

"I don't know why the Kings match up so well. They just play us
hard," Russell said. "Three overtime games, damn. They're a
great team, what can you say? They play us so much better than
most teams."

This contest featured several technical fouls and the ejection
of Jazz center Greg Ostertag in the third quarter after he was
involved in an altercation with Divac.

Williamson scored 22 points, Divac had 17 and 13 rebounds and
Webber added 16 and 16 for the Kings, who dropped one game
behind Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the West.

"If you don't take care of the ball, you're not going to beat a
team like Utah, or many other teams for that matter," said Kings
coach Rick Adelman. "It's something where if it's a hard lesson
to learn, we certainly learned one tonight."

With 8:25 left in the third, Ostertag and Divac received
technical fouls after battling under the boards and jawing at
each other. Just over a minute later, Divac drove the lane and
was floored by a blatant forearm from Ostertag.

"I didn't mean to tackle him like that," Ostertag said. "I just
meant to give him a hard foul. I guess I caught him pretty
good."

Webber and Williamson managed some minor retaliation against
Ostertag, each drawing a technical foul. Hornacek hit both free
throws and Divac sank both foul shots after Ostertag's ejection.
Seconds later, Adelman was slapped with a technical for arguing
an offensive foul against Webber.

A layup by Malone with 5:17 left gave the Jazz a 66-62 lead,
Williams answered with a 3-pointer to spark the Kings' 11-0
burst. Divac tied the game with a free throw after Malone was
hit with a technical foul.

A pair of baskets by Webber capped the run, making it 73-66 with
2:06 remaining. Sacramento went on to take a 77-70 lead at the
end of the period.

The Kings had an 83-70 lead on Williamson's jumper early in the
fourth, but Utah stormed back with a 15-3 burst. Russell
contributed a pair of inside baskets before Malone capped the
run with a short hook shot, cutting the deficit to 86-85.

Two free throws by Stockton tied it, 95-95, with 11.9 seconds
left. After Malone tipped away a pass by Divac, Stockton had a
chance to win in regulation but missed a baseline jumper at the
buzzer.